Escape
by CharmedMummy
Summary: Balancing work and kids and still maintaining a marriage isn't easy. Part of my "Everything Old is New Again" series.
1. Lean on Me

**AN:** This story is an installment of my "Everything Old is New Again" series and fits in between "Band on the Run" and "We Are Family" (see my profile page for the entire series list). Reading other stories in the series before this one will help you understand some of the background of where the various characters are in this stage of my little AU, but I think it can be enjoyed even if this is the first story of it that you've ever read.

The story is focused around Danny and Lindsay, though all the other characters make appearances at various points. I've tried something a little different with the format. Feel free to give me feedback on whether it works for you. Also, I did something a little different with the song inspiration for this fic. "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes is the overall inspiration for the entire fic, but I've also labeled each individual chapter with a song that kind of goes with what happens in that particular chapter. Hopefully that will make sense.

I must take the time to thank my awesome beta, **Kerry Blue**, without whom my writing wouldn't be near as good. She polishes it till it shines and I'm eternally grateful to her for that.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _CSI:NY_ in any way, shape or form. The same goes for any song titles that I mention. And to be clear, I do not make any money off of this, it is purely for the enjoyment of myself and others.

**Chapter One: Lean on Me / Bill Withers**

Sid and Sheldon shared a look as Lindsay rushed away from the table, one hand over her mouth and the other over her stomach. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Dr. Hawkes?" Hammerback asked.

"Likely." He ran a hand over his head. "Do you think we should talk to her about it?"

"I would think so. You know, this reminds me of an experience I once had in college…"

Hawkes shook his head as he followed Lindsay out of the morgue, leaving Sid behind. The older man could finish his story with the corpse he was working on. Sheldon Hawkes had more important matters to attend to.

_**Six weeks ago…**_

Lindsay looked up as someone knocked on the door to her office. "Hey, Stella. Got something for me?" she asked, noticing the folder in her colleague's hands.

"Yeah, my report on the Hendrickson case. Our piece of it is all wrapped up, so it's ready for you to sign and put the bow on, Boss."

Lindsay winced as she sat back in her chair. "Would you stop calling me that?"

Stella crossed her arms casually after setting the file down on Lindsay's desk. "Why? The title kind of comes with the office, Lindsay."

"I know, I know, but it sounds…weird, I guess, coming from you. This job could have been yours or Danny's or even Sheldon's if any of you had wanted it."

Stella Bonasera raised an eyebrow. She thought Lindsay had worked through all of this months ago when she had taken over for Mac after he had moved up to the Chief of Detectives job. But evidently she had been mistaken and Lindsay still had some issues with things. Thinking that this looked to be a long conversation, Stella sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. "That's not completely true and you know it. Sure, we've all been here at the lab longer than you, and I won't deny that maybe I'm a better investigator." Stella smiled to indicate she was joking about that last part, but was somewhat worried at the lack of response she got from her friend. "But Lindsay, there are two very big reasons that Mac wanted you to succeed him. One, IAB has never had even a whiff of a problem with you. The brass would have balked at putting someone like Danny or me in the position considering our temperaments. And that leads into the second reason: Danny and I would have been lousy at the big picture side of things. You know it, I know it, Danny knows it, and you better believe Mac knows it. We're great at working our cases, but we sometimes work them a bit single-mindedly without thought or care to what our actions mean to the lab overall."

Lindsay rubbed her eyes. "So I got the job because I'm better at paperwork."

Stella shook her head. "You're not listening to me. You got the job because you were the best person for the position. Sheldon is a good investigator, but his love and passion has always been for the medical side of things, so it was inevitable that he would head back to the morgue. If he had tried this position he would have done well enough, but he would have never been really happy. And Danny or I would have sunk this lab faster than that iceberg sunk the Titanic because we're just not built for anything other than fieldwork. You're amazing at fieldwork, but you can do the bigger picture side of things needed to take care of the lab as well, so this job is perfect for you."

She saw that she still wasn't getting through, so she pulled her chair up and put her arms down on the desk. "Okay, so what, you're hung up thinking that you were Mac's third or fourth choice and that you got the job by default?" Lindsay didn't answer, but she looked away which indicated that Stella was right on the money. "You're an idiot, Lindsay Messer." She gave her best stern interrogation look when the brunette snapped her head back around. "Do you honestly think that Mac Taylor would have left this job in just anyone's hands? That he wouldn't have made sure that someone completely capable would be taking over here before he accepted the Chief of Ds position?"

"'Capable' doesn't mean 'best for the job,'" Lindsay pointed out.

"Did you know that Mac never asked me if I wanted his job when he was thinking about moving up at the urging of the top brass?" Lindsay gave her a skeptical look. "I'm serious. Never once did Mac ask me if I wanted to be the head of the lab. Do you want to know what he did ask me?" Stella waited until she got a reluctant nod from the woman across from her. "He asked me a few things. He asked me whether I would have a problem working for you since you were younger and hadn't been around this lab nearly as long as I have and I said, 'Hell no, I wouldn't have a problem with that.'" She felt a little better when Lindsay gave a small smile at that.

"And he asked me if I thought Danny would have a problem with it and he got another 'Hell no.' And then he asked me if I thought that the job would mess with your home life. Even knowing that he was just coming from a position of caring about you and Danny and the kids, I about hit him upside the head for thinking that you couldn't handle a promotion and being a wife and mother all at once. I told him that just because he had done the job by obsessing over it and making it his life almost to the exclusion of anything else didn't mean that it had to be done that way. I said that I thought that you could do the job just as well even if you did things differently, and that if he couldn't handle the thought of things being done differently, then he shouldn't leave because things were going to be different no matter who took the job."

She reached across the table to grasp Lindsay's hand. "You were his choice to take over from the very beginning, and in all the hours we talked about whether he wanted to make the jump or not there was never once a thought about you not being able to do the job or that you wouldn't make the position your own. Most of Mac's hesitancies came from himself and had nothing to do with your abilities. The only thought he ever had against naming you as his successor was whether that would strain your relationships with Danny and the kids, and again, I assured him that you were _not_ him and you could do the job without completely sacrificing the personal stuff."

Lindsay wiped at her eyes. "Except that I think I have done that, Stel." She took a deep breath. "It hasn't been anything drastic. In fact, it's almost scarier in its subtleness. But Danny and I haven't talked, really talked, in weeks, maybe months. I've been doing my best to make sure I don't let this job take over my life, but it seems like every spare moment I have gets spent with the kids and while that's great and all, Danny and I have lost the ability to just be a couple, you know?"

Stella sat back in her chair. "Have you talked to Danny about this?"

Lindsay started shaking her head before Stella had even finished the question. "No, and you have to promise that you won't say anything." Stella nodded her acquiescence even though she wasn't happy about it. "I have to figure this out myself, okay? I just have to find a way to either make this work or tell Mac that he made the wrong choice and he needs to find someone else because I refuse to let this job ruin my marriage."

"Good for you," Stella said, meaning it. As much as she thought that Lindsay was great for the lab and should stay in the position, it would kill her to see such a great couple like Danny and Lindsay fail because of it, and the pain that would bring to the kids. "You know you can talk to me about this whenever you need to, right?"

"Yeah, I do, and thanks Stella. I feel better already having told all of this to you. Really, it means a lot."

"Anytime," Stella told her, standing and rounding the desk to give her friend a hard hug. Pulling back she looked down at the shorter woman. "I'm also a good baby-sitter if you need one. I'll make Mac help me and we'll take them to a game or something or he'll take Dominic to a game and I'll take the girls shopping. It's been too long since I've had a girls' day out with them anyway."

Lindsay smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." They said goodbye and Stella headed out for the locker room and home, fervently hoping that her friend had taken her advice to heart.


	2. Love Will Keep Us Together

**AN:** Continued thanks to my beta, **Kerry Blue**, and continued assurance that I do not own the show or any of the songs I mention in any way, I merely own the random thoughts that come out of my head, but I doubt they're worth much.

Just FYI, it might seem like this chapter is the end of the story, but I assure you it's not. We've got a ways to go yet. Anyway, on with the show...

**Chapter Two: Love Will Keep Us Together / Captain & Tennille**

Sheldon knocked lightly on the door to the women's restroom, thankful that there was no one in the hallway to witness his actions. When he didn't get a response, he slowly pushed open the door. "Lindsay?"

"Yeah, I'm here." When he heard the sound of running water, Hawkes pushed the door open further until he could see Lindsay standing at the sinks washing her mouth out. He was grateful that he could talk to her from the doorway because he really didn't want to have to explain the situation to someone if they walked into the restroom and found him there.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing, really, I just shouldn't have had that hot dog for lunch." Lindsay wet a couple of paper towels and wiped them across her face.

"This isn't about a bad hot dog and you know it, Lindsay." He met her eyes in the mirror and was struck by the terror he saw there. Why would this be causing her this much distress?

"It can't be, Sheldon. It just can't be. Not after all this time."

"It can be and it is." He glanced out into the hallway. "Look, this isn't the best place to be having this discussion. Take a few more minutes and then meet me in my office. If you're not there in ten, I'll send Sid after you." At least she managed to grin at that. Hawkes stepped back and let the door swing close. Well, this day was certainly turning out to be more interesting than he had anticipated…

_**Five weeks ago…**_

Danny hoped fervently that this worked. He knew that things hadn't been the best between him and Lindsay lately and that they couldn't continue as they had been. If they did, they would find themselves being more like friends who happened to have kids together than two people who loved each other so much that they couldn't stand to be apart.

This was probably what Mac had been worried about when he had asked Danny if he would be okay with Mac recommending Lindsay as the best person to succeed Mac as head of the lab. His mentor hadn't even had to say why he thought Lindsay was better for the job than Danny. More than anyone else, Danny knew that he wouldn't be suited to the job and he didn't take it as an insult that Mac hadn't even offered. He actually just felt pride that his wife was Mac's first and only choice.

No, the only concern Mac had seemed to have was how Danny thought they would handle the shift in positions on a personal level, and Danny had assured him that there would be no problem in that area. And there wasn't, at least not in terms of Danny resenting having to report to his wife. Jokingly he would tell people that he did that at home anyway, but in seriousness he would say that he didn't have a problem with it because he knew Lindsay well enough to know that any decision she made was the best one for the lab as a whole. Sure, there had been and would be bumps in the road. Nothing was perfect and their tempers combined caused sparks even back when they were equals in rank. But it was nothing they couldn't handle.

The problem that they hadn't anticipated was losing their sense of being a couple, and he sometimes thought that they would have reached this place eventually whether or not Lindsay had taken the promotion. The new position just sped the process up a little. A lot of couples with kids probably faced these same issues, focusing too much on their role as parents and not enough on their marriage. And with three active kids they would have years before it would be back to just the two of them in the house, and he didn't think their relationship could wait that long to get back to what it once was.

So that's why he had concocted this whole crazy plan. What had possessed him to do this he had no idea, but as the jazz music flowed from the nearby stage he nervously watched the door. He had had an early shift that day and so he didn't even know for sure that she had read the paper like she tried to do every morning. Reading the newspaper front to back was a habit she had had long before they had even met, but sometimes it had to be skipped when circumstances didn't allow her the small pleasure. And if she hadn't read the paper that morning, then this whole plan would fall apart and he would have a very confused wife at home in an empty house right now.

So he waited with high hopes, and then she walked into the place. He knew her smile in an instant, the curve of her face. She spotted him and grinned and his heart flipped like it hadn't done in awhile. He stood as she approached the table and leaned down to greet her with a kiss. "You got my message."

Lindsay smiled and took off her coat, obviously enjoying the effect the dress she was wearing had on him. "Yeah. You're lucky, the kids were good for me this morning and I had the time after they left for school to read thoroughly." She sat down in the chair that Danny pulled out for her and waited until he was seated again before continuing the conversation. "Speaking of the kids, where are they?"

"The girls are having a sleepover with Kaile at Stella's and Dominic went to a hockey game with Mac and Don before crashing at Mac's place. We've got the whole night to ourselves."

She smiled at him and he thanked God for this woman. "I'm impressed, Detective. The personal ad in the paper was clever and this whole thing obviously took some planning." She took a sip of her wine and then looked at him more seriously. "So…is there a special reason why you set this whole thing up?"

He reached out and covered her hand with one of his. "The special reason is that it's been way too long since I've done something for you that was just because and not for any holiday or anniversary. I haven't been a good husband lately and this is my attempt to change that."

She was vigorously shaking her head before he had finished speaking. "You haven't been a bad husband at all, Danny. If anything, I've been a bad wife." She drew in a breath. "I'm starting to think I shouldn't have accepted the head honcho job. I'm just not ready right now. Maybe it would be a better fit when the kids are older and can fend for themselves more easily."

Danny squeezed her hand. "Let's compromise and say we've both been neglectful of one another recently. As for the job, you should stay. You're great for the lab, Lindsay. We just made the mistake of thinking the new position wouldn't mean too many changes in our lives, so we didn't know how to handle it when everything did change. I know we can make this work if we put our minds to it. You and me, Montana, we can do anything if we do it together."

She wiped away a few tears. "You're amazing, you know that? I've been freaking out about this whole thing as I tend to do when I bottle things up inside, and you allay my fears in a matter of moments." She laid a hand on his cheek. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"If I try to list all that you've done for me, Montana, we'll be here all night." He turned his head slightly and kissed her palm. "Let's just start by making a pact. At least once a month, you and I set aside some time just for us. It doesn't have to be this structured, it can just be us putting Dominic and the twins to bed early and we order pizza and rent an old movie. Whatever it is, we make sure to set some time aside to escape from our everyday lives and just enjoy each other."

"Sounds like a plan," Lindsay said, leaning over to give him a kiss. He knew they hadn't resolved everything, but his heart felt a lot better at having gotten this whole thing out in the open.


	3. Laughter in the Rain

**AN:** Thanks to all who have reviewed or added this story to their alerts or even have just taken the time to read this story. It's much appreciated

Continued thanks and disclaimers, yadda yadda yadda.

**Chapter Three: Laughter in the Rain / Neil Sedaka**

Sheldon looked up from the papers on his desk as his friend and colleague walked into the room, shut the door and sat wearily in one of the chairs in front of him. "It's not what you think it is, Hawkes. I mean, God, it's been almost eight years! I just, it can't, it can't be…"

"It can and it is," he said again, echoing his words from their conversation just minutes before. "It's not like you're too old for it, and word on the family grapevine is that you and Danny have been closer than ever lately, so…"

"That's just it, Sheldon, we've finally worked things out, found our identity as a couple again somewhere in the chaos of our lives with the kids and the job, and I just don't know how this will affect that. How will I even tell him?"

"Well, hopefully not the same way he found out the first time. I don't think we need you to faint on us. Though I can call Don to catch you again if you think it's necessary."

"Ha ha, very funny, Dr. Hawkes. No, I don't plan for there to be any fainting going on. Though it doesn't seem like I'm very good at planning anything these days, so maybe you should take precautions." She slumped forward, her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. "What am I going to do, Sheldon?"

_**Four weeks ago…**_

"What am I going to do with you, Sheldon?" Lindsay rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

"Sorry, Linds, I'm having to deal with budget cuts down in the M.E.'s office as much as you are up here in the lab. We're doing our best to get you results as quickly as we can, but we have to prioritize and some things have to get pushed aside." Hawkes crossed his legs and looked as weary as she probably did. The city's latest budget hadn't been kind to the law enforcement community. How the local government expected them to get just as much done but on a smaller budget was beyond her.

"Has Tessa decided for sure whether she's going to run for the City Council yet? Because I'm starting to think we need someone on there who will understand our woes."

"She hasn't made a final decision yet." Just then Danny stuck his head into the office.

"Hey you two. Montana, can I borrow you for a second?"

"What do you need? Hawkes and I are trying to figure out how to squeeze some more blood out of this rock the city council has given us."

"It's better if I show you. Can you guys take a break for a few minutes?" Lindsay eyed her husband warily. What was he up to?

"Yeah, a break would be great," Sheldon said while standing. "I could use a cup of something caffeinated anyway."

"Boom." Danny came over and took Lindsay's hand. "We'll be back in a few."

Lindsay let herself be led out of her office and into the elevator. "Where are we going? I thought you had a case you needed to ask me about."

"I didn't say this had anything to do with a case." Danny smiled that mischievous smile she saw often on her ten year old son's face these days. "Just be patient, Montana. All will be revealed soon enough."

She bit her lip to keep from badgering him with questions. This was a bit more spontaneous than they had been in a long time other than their dinner date a week ago and she was liking the return to their old form. Ever since that night it was like a weight had lifted off of them and they were stronger than ever as a couple.

The elevator pinged and opened at the lobby. Danny led her out and towards the front doors and she didn't have time to comprehend what they were doing before he had pulled her outside and they were immediately drenched by the downpour hammering the city.

"Danny! What the hell?!" She turned to go back inside, but Danny tugged on her hand to keep her in the rain.

"Don't you remember, Montana?" he yelled over the sound of the water pelting the sidewalk, ignoring all the looks they were getting from passersby.

And then it clicked. They had once been walking through Central Park, fairly early in their relationship, when a sudden downpour opened up and surprised them. Danny had started to run for cover, but Lindsay had spun in place with her arms out wide, for some reason feeling like she just wanted to stand there and take it all in. It wasn't like she could get any more wet than she already was anyway. Eventually Danny joined her, talking about how crazy she was and how it probably had something to do with her country upbringing, but it didn't take her long to persuade him that it could be fun to get caught in the rain. And he certainly hadn't minded how they had dried off and warmed up back at his apartment afterwards.

Now, on the sidewalk outside the lab with strangers all around them holding umbrellas or newspapers over their heads, Lindsay couldn't help but grin. It was like ten years or more had fallen away and they were young lovers again. "And here I didn't think you liked the rain, cowboy."

"A certain Montana girl taught me that getting drenched can be fun." He pulled on her hand to draw her close. "It started pouring as I was coming back from my scene and I just thought of you and how I wanted to share this with you. Getting rained on isn't fun if you're not with me."

She smiled and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling down on it to bring his face closer to hers. "Shut up and kiss me, Messer. And yes, that's an order."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with that predatory look that always turned her knees to jello. Damn, but she loved the rain.


	4. Celebration

**AN:** Continued thanks to you, my readers, and to my awesome beta, **Kerry Blue**. Also, continued disclaimers for the show and the songs. And I take no responsibility for getting these songs stuck in your head. At least this next one is a fun song that you could dance around to. :)

**Chapter Four: Celebration / Kool & The Gang**

A knock came at the door and it opened to reveal Sid. "How is everything in here?"

Lindsay just groaned without raising her head, so Sheldon answered the question. "Everything's fine. Lindsay is just trying to come to terms with things."

"I might have something to help with that." Sid held up a plastic bag emblazoned with the logo of a local pharmacy. "From what I could see, what we're assuming to be the case hasn't actually been confirmed yet, so…"

"You didn't," Lindsay said incredulously as she finally raised her head. "Oh my god, you did! Sid!"

"What?" he asked as he closed the door after him. "I'm a doctor, it's not that big of a deal. And I'm too old to care what the young man at the counter thought. It's probably not the first time he's seen a man come in and buy one of these things anyway. Though I should probably let my wife know about the purchase in case somehow she hears about it, because that could be a little awkward…"

"Stop! Please, you guys, the fewer people that know about this the better. I haven't figured out how to tell Danny yet, and it's not right if everyone knows except him. Besides, you're right, I don't know for sure, so can we stop talking about it like it's a sure thing? Maybe I just have a stomach flu."

"How long have I known you?" Hawkes asked. "Certainly long enough to know the difference between the flu and this. No matter how sick you've ever been, I've never seen anything- even the most decomposed body- make you sick in the morgue except for the last two times you were in this condition. At a scene, sure, we have all had those moments when a smell or a sight catches us a little off guard and we get nauseous, but in the morgue is a different thing and I've never seen you have a problem with it here. Not to mention the fact that you had to run for the bathroom when Sid had done nothing more than open the Y incision to show you something."

"Okay, okay, you can stop laying out the evidence." Lindsay held out her hand. "Just give me the stupid bag."

Sid handed it to her. "Why haven't you taken care of this before now? I can't believe this is the first indication you've had that something was going on."

"I guess I was just holding on to the faint hope that it was the flu or something or that I was just run down." She rubbed her eyes. "It's not like we planned this, like Sheldon and Tessa."

Hawkes sat back in his chair as he realized something. "You've known about this since Tessa and I announced our news, didn't you? I remember that you weren't drinking alcohol that night. Lindsay, that was nearly a month ago! I thought you meant you had been denying the truth for the past week or so."

She shook her head. "No, I honestly didn't know before that. I really did just think I wasn't feeling well, which is why I didn't want to drink any alcohol." Lindsay sighed. "But truthfully, it _was_ your announcement that made the light come on over my head…"

_**Three weeks ago…**_

"Are you sure you still want to go in?" Danny asked as he walked hand in hand with Lindsay from their parked car to the bar where the team/family was meeting. "I'm sure Hawkes and Tessa will understand."

"No, I'll be okay. Sheldon sounded like he was really excited and I don't want to miss the big news. I promise, if I'm still not feeling great, we'll leave early. But if this about what I'm guessing it's for, I want to be there."

Danny didn't argue with her anymore, as her mind was obviously made up. And if he had learned one thing about Montana over the years it was that she was stubborn. Not that he had much room to talk. So, he would just watch her and make sure she was doing okay. She really did look better than she had that morning. She hadn't thrown up, but that was touch and go for awhile. And he knew that she hadn't eaten much all day which prompted his next question. "Do you think you can eat something when we get in there? I don't think you've had more than a few crackers today."

"I'm not really hungry. I might make myself some soup when we get home, but for now I'm fine." She reached over with the hand that wasn't holding his and squeezed his arm. "Really, Danny, I'm okay. I probably just caught what Dominic brought home from school last week. At least I haven't been throwing up like he was."

Danny chuckled as they neared the door. "Poor kid. He was so mad that being sick made him miss kickball at recess with his buddies. He said the next day that the team he usually plays with lost for the first time all school year just because he wasn't there."

Lindsay rolled her eyes as her husband held open the door to the bar for her to walk through. "And I wonder where he got that arrogance from. Of course they would have won if he had just been there." Danny grinned unrepentantly.

They were the last to arrive and joined the rest of the group over in the corner of the bar. "Hey, you two," Don greeted. "I didn't know if you guys would make it. Kaile said that Dom mentioned you weren't feeling well, Linds."

"Sheesh, word does get around fast," Lindsay commented as she sat down in the chair that Danny held out for her. She smiled her thanks up at him and then turned back to the group. "I'm okay, just a bit of an upset stomach. I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow, but for now let's just say I won't be trying to steal any of your greasy onion rings, Don." Everyone laughed. Onion rings were a well known weakness of Flack's.

"Okay," Stella broke in, "I can't take the suspense any longer." She turned to Sheldon and Tessa. "What's the big news?"

Sheldon smiled at his wife of less than a year. "Why don't you tell them, honey?"

Tessa couldn't hold back her ear-splitting grin. "Well, since you all deal in evidence, I thought I should bring along some proof with me." She reached in her purse and pulled out a clear evidence bag that Hawkes must have gotten for her which contained an easily recognizable item. "I'm pregnant!" she announced, holding up the bag with the pregnancy test so everyone could see the positive results.

The table immediately erupted in rounds of congratulations and hugs were exchanged. Sheldon waved to a waitress and, in an obviously pre-planned move, she brought over a bottle of champagne and another of sparkling grape juice along with a tray of glasses. Hawkes took the bottle of champagne and successfully popped the cork without making too big of a mess. "I know this isn't the usual barroom fare," he said as he poured some of the liquid into several glasses and handed them out, "but I thought I would bring something a little special to celebrate with."

Lindsay waved him off when he offered her a glass. "Sorry, I don't think I'm up to champagne right now, Sheldon."

"Do you want some of the sparkling grape juice then?" Hawkes asked as he set aside the champagne bottle. "I brought it since obviously Tessa can't have any of the alcohol." He poured a glass of the beverage for his wife and then raised an eyebrow in question at Lindsay.

"Um, sure," she said. Danny looked over at her at her hesitation. She obviously didn't know if her stomach would like that either, but he knew she couldn't bring herself to refuse Sheldon in that moment. She could always just sip it, the important thing was just to have a glass in her hand to participate in the toasts that would be coming. It was pretty much family tradition to get together and toast a child being on the way. The other times it hadn't been this well planned, it was more that they were just all together and toasts seemed the appropriate way to celebrate a new member of the family. For his daughters there had actually been two impromptu toasting sessions, one for when everyone found out Lindsay was pregnant again, and later one for when they had found out they were having twins. But leave it to Sheldon to have this planned, and with champagne to boot rather than just mugs or bottles of beer.

"A toast!" Danny declared once everyone had their drinks. It was also part of the tradition that he start the toasts. Another part was to begin the festivities with a variation on the first toast he had given back when Lindsay was pregnant with Dominic. "Here's to Don not having to catch anyone this time. Who knows if his reflexes would still be up to the task." Everyone laughed and/or groaned at the joke.

Don just rolled his eyes before picking up the toasting baton. "Here's to Sheldon and Tessa for making the decision to leap into parenthood. Finally now I'll be able to spoil their kid and then hand him or her back like they've been doing with my daughter." And on the toasts went, some serious, some sentimental, many of them joking. Finally they had gone around the table a time or two and everyone's glasses were empty. In a quiet moment everyone heard a loud rumble and the whole table looked at Don who smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. I missed lunch because I was running around doing something for my task master of a boss," he explained, pointing a thumb in Mac's direction. "So many of the guys in Homicide think I moved up to a cushy job, but that's because they've never worked directly for Mac Taylor."

"Quit your whining," Mac shot back good-naturedly as he waved a waitress over so Don could order some more food. The onion rings that Flack had consumed earlier had obviously not been enough for him. Everyone knew that Flack didn't really mind working for Mac. Sure, he probably still wished sometimes that he worked back in Homicide and was on the streets more often, but Danny knew that he had accepted the position with Mac because he wanted to be in a less dangerous position since he was the only parent that Kaile had. It was a decision a long time in the making because Danny knew well from conversations with his longtime best friend that every close call on the job since Kaile had been born had scared the other man to no end. He couldn't bear the thought of orphaning his daughter when she already had to go through life without ever having known her mother.

"Just please, don't order any kind of seafood," Tessa pleaded. "I think that was how I realized that I should take the pregnancy test because all of a sudden the food that I love so much was making me nauseous like you wouldn't believe. I don't feel sick at all unless I get a whiff of something out of the ocean, and then I'm a goner. Sheldon even had a tuna sandwich for lunch one day and when he came home and kissed me hello, the smell on his breath sent me running for the bathroom."

"Sounds like someone else I could name," Mac commented wryly. "If I remember correctly we had to put a moratorium for several months on anyone in the lab bringing fish onto the premises if it wasn't case related. And the lab techs were so afraid of ticking Danny off for making his wife sick that whenever something even tangentially seafood related came in as evidence in a case, they ran to let Lindsay know so that she could steer clear of where it would be."

Everyone laughed at the memory as Don took Tessa's request to heart and ordered a burger and fries and a couple others put in an order or two for some more appetizers. Well, most everyone laughed. Danny glanced over at his wife, about to ask if she felt up to having anything, and he noticed an odd, almost stunned look on her face. He draped his arm across the back of her chair and leaned over to speak quietly in her ear. "You okay there, Montana? You look like you just got a shock of some sort."

She blinked and turned to him, staring into his eyes for a moment. He tried to guess what was going on in her brain, but unlike most of the time, he couldn't figure what was going on behind her pretty eyes. Finally she seemed to mentally shake off whatever it was that she was thinking about and smiled at him. "I'm fine. I just realized something, but it's nothing that can't wait until later." Danny was going to press harder, not believing in the slightest her claims to be okay, but his attention was diverted when Don called on him to corroborate a tale of the past.

As conversation moved along throughout the evening, jumping quickly and easily from stories about the job to family tales that had been discussed many times before but were still favorites to reminisce about, Danny forgot about pressing Lindsay on what she had "realized." Weeks later he would think back and wonder why he didn't put two and two together, but then why would he have suspected what she was then suddenly grasping the possibility of? That night had been all about celebrating Sheldon and Tessa's good news and spending time together as friends and family. Realization, for him at least, was still weeks away at that point.


	5. Rhinestone Cowboy

**AN:** Thanks so much for all the kind words everybody! It means a lot to me, especially on days with such crappy weather.

All disclaimers and whatnot still apply. And as always, thanks to my beta **Kerry Blue**.

**Chapter Five: Rhinestone Cowboy / Glenn Campbell**

Lindsay slowly walked towards the restroom she had just left minutes ago- though it seemed like a lifetime- the plastic bag in her hand seeming to weigh a ton. When she reached the bathroom, instead of heading for a stall she paused at the sinks, set the bag on the counter and braced her hands against the edge while she stared at herself in the mirror.

She didn't blame Sid and Sheldon for being incredulous at her unwillingness to accept the obvious. It _was_ fairly irrational for her to have been ignoring for so long the facts that were staring her right in the face. And yet she still had a momentary thought of trashing the plastic bag's contents and leaving the morgue without confirming anything. That idea was quickly shot down by the rational part of her brain which pointed out that Sid and Sheldon weren't just going to forget what they had seen, not to mention the rest of the staff in the morgue that had seen her sprint away from the body with her hand over her mouth.

God, this shouldn't be such a big deal. And at first it hadn't been. For the first few days she had just been shocked at the idea considering how long it had been since the last time. But then Danny got that phone call and things started getting complicated on a whole host of levels…

_**Two weeks ago…**_

"Are we almost there?" Lindsay really didn't like keeping her eyes closed. Losing sight of her surroundings was not something she was comfortable with unless she was trying to get some sleep. But at least Danny hadn't tried to make her wear a blindfold, that would have just been too much. Fortunately he was her husband for a reason and he knew she wouldn't be too keen on the idea, so he just asked her to keep her eyes closed or at least direct them downwards toward her lap if she needed to open them for a few moments. She had done as he asked, thinking he looked so cute when he was obviously very worked up about something, but her patience was almost gone.

"Just about." She felt their department issued SUV slow down and make a right turn into what sounded and felt like a gravel driveway. Why they had to go so far for the surprise and why Danny got various family members to take care of the kids was still a mystery to Lindsay, one she hoped her husband would be clearing up very soon.

As they came to a stop, Lindsay reached out to touch Danny's arm. "Can I open my eyes now?"

"Open your door first," Danny told her. "Don't worry, there's no one parked next to us on your side."

She was about to ask why he wanted her to do that first, but as she started to open the door to the vehicle she caught a whiff of a smell on the air and her eyes shot open in disbelief. "Oh my god, Danny, is that horses I smell?" It was a stupid question because the smell was unmistakable, and the sight of the barns when she opened her eyes only confirmed her suspicions.

"Well, I would say that it smells more like manure, but whatever you want to call it, darling," he cracked, even attempting a drawl on the last word that just made her laugh like it did every time he tried to tease her by adding a country twang to his New York accent.

"Why did you bring me here?" she had to ask. She loved the animals and tried to take the kids to see the horses pulling carriages in Central Park every once in awhile and occasionally even took them to the barns where the NYPD kept their horses housed, but Danny rarely came along and never suggested the idea. He claimed he just didn't like the smell and that it was too country of an activity for a city boy like himself, but she knew that while that was part of it, he was also somewhat intimidated by the large animals. Oh, it was nothing he would admit to or that most people would notice, but she could tell. And it really became obvious the first time he had seen one of his kids atop a horse.

He had come to pick her and the kids up at the NYPD barns and about flipped out when he saw Ana atop one of the horses. It didn't matter that Lindsay had assured him that the mare was about as gentle as could be and that there was a responsible, trained person next to Ana and the horse the whole time. And he didn't care that Lindsay had been on a horse at an even younger age than Ana. About the only thing that got him to calm down was when Lindsay made the mild comment that he seemed to be implying that she would let their daughter do something really dangerous. That stopped him cold, though it didn't calm his fears. They had left soon after, and when the kids were in bed that night they had had a long conversation about the whole thing and compromised on what the kids could and could not do with horses until they were older and could decide for themselves.

Danny shrugged. "We both had the day off, you've been buried under too much paperwork the last few days and haven't been outside the lab or the house except to drive between the two. I thought you should take a break and that this might help you relax." He unbuckled from his safety restraint, opened his door and got out and she followed suit, meeting him at the front of the vehicle.

"But why couldn't we bring the kids? They would have loved it and I wouldn't have let them do anything with the horses that made you too uncomfortable."

He shrugged again, putting his hands in his pockets. "I thought we should come out here without them." He waved and she turned to see a man waving them over from near the closest barn. "That's Frank. I met him during a case last week. Do you remember the guy whose murder was made to look like an accidental drug overdose?" She nodded, remembering what he had told her of the case and the report he had turned in to her. "The kid was Frank's nephew, his sister's son. Frank thanked me for not just accepting the obvious conclusion that his nephew was a druggie and for finding and arresting his killer. I assured him that it was just my job, somehow his occupation as the head guy here came up, I mentioned your love of the beasts, and here we are. I thought it would kill two birds with one stone, letting the guy do something small to 'repay' me and feel like he did something to show his appreciation, and it would give you some fun."

Lindsay grabbed his arm as they headed towards the smiling, genial looking man who welcomed them. Introductions were made and then they were given a quick tour of the facilities before being taken to the big barn where many of the horses had their stalls. Frank offered to let Lindsay ride, but she told him that was okay, she was content to walk around and meet each animal individually, gaining their love through carrots and sugar cubes that Frank provided before he left them to attend to something. She noticed Danny's raised eyebrow at her not jumping at the chance to ride one of the animals, but she wasn't about to tell him why she was reluctant to climb on. She hadn't been able to bring herself to confirm her suspicions yet, had in fact been planning to go out and buy a test to do just that when Danny sprung this surprise trip on her, and there was no way she was telling him before she knew for sure. To divert his attention, she quickly asked a question once they were alone next to a stall with a sign that read "Midnight" on its door and a beautiful black gelding inside. "So, are you ready to tell me the other reason why we're here?" she probed, smiling as he squirmed, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. She calmly waited on him, holding out a carrot to the gorgeous animal who was nuzzling her shoulder, obviously guessing that she had a treat for him.

Danny sighed and adjusted his glasses on his nose. "I wasn't going to mention it because it wasn't going to come to anything, but this guy has been persistent and I'm afraid he might eventually contact my boss, and since that's you, I thought I should be the one to let you know."

Now Lindsay was getting worried and she furrowed her brow. "Is somebody you put away bothering you? You should have told me sooner, Danny, there are steps to take when something like that happens."

He was shaking his head in the negative before she had finished speaking. "No, it's nothing like that. I would tell you if it were since it could affect you and the kids." He shifted and folded his arms across his chest. "I got a call from the state crime lab." She still wasn't understanding until he clarified a bit more. "They offered me a job."

She opened her mouth and then closed it without saying anything. She didn't know quite what she should say. "What kind of job?" was the first thing that came out.

"Uh, head of their crime lab in the city." Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow.

"I didn't realize you were sending out applications," she commented, not yet miffed because frankly she was still a little shocked.

"I wasn't! This guy just called up one day wanting to talk about the possibility of me applying for the position. I thought about it for about five seconds, knew that it wasn't for me, and told him so. But like I said, this guy is persistent. He's been calling me and sending letters and e-mails about the position and its compensations and everything. It doesn't matter how many times I tell the guy I'm not interested, he keeps saying that he thinks I would be perfect for the job. I was afraid he would call you, not realizing that you were my wife or maybe because you're my wife, in the hopes that you would pressure me to rethink my position, which is why I finally decided I should mention it to you."

Lindsay absentmindedly stroked the horse as she looked at her husband. "Why are you so against the idea? It could be great for you, Danny, a chance for you to move up. I know you don't fancy the idea of working for the state rather than the city, but you'd still be in the city."

"That's only a small part of it, Linds. I'm not cut out to be an administrator. You know that as well as I do. It's a big part of why I had no problem with Mac offering you the job for head of the lab."

Something occurred to her. "You're not passing this up because of anything to do with me, are you? Because if it's something that interests you at all, I'll support you Danny. As much as you think that you'd hate being the boss, you know that I think you would do great. We never said that either of us would have to work for the city our whole careers."

Danny reached over, grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, shooting a wary glance at the nearby horse which almost made Lindsay laugh despite their conversation. "I'm not passing up the opportunity just for you," he insisted as he brought her body close to his and settled his hands on her hips. "I know that I really wouldn't like the job. But yeah, of course you factor in. I love working with you Montana, and it would take a hell of a job to pull me out of the lab and away from you. And more than just being able to see you during the workday, and I know this makes me sound chauvinistic but I don't care, I just…I like knowing that I'm around to help watch your back, you know?"

She did know. She felt the same way about him and she would probably worry somewhat if he worked in a different department or a different agency altogether, despite knowing how good he was at taking care of himself and how well trained others were that could be there for him. While anyone who loved someone else would have protective instincts for that person, their situation was somewhat unique in that they had met at the lab and were partners before they were lovers. Watching each other's backs had been a professional thing for them before it had ever been personal and relinquishing that job was hard for both of them even temporarily when they didn't work cases together.

But she wasn't about to let him dismiss this so quickly. "It's just that I don't want you to feel like you have to sacrifice your own ambitions for me, Danny. You deserve to succeed just as much as I do."

He cupped her face with one of his hands and gave her that smile she knew he only used with her. "When I was a kid all I ever dreamed about was becoming a professional baseball player. Every night visions of being under the bright lights danced through my head, scenarios playing out that usually involved my winning the World Series with a clutch homerun in the bottom of the ninth with two outs." She was mesmerized as so much passed through their locked gaze. "When that dream was gone, I didn't think much about the future anymore. I lived day to day, not planning very far forward. Until you walked into my life."

He smirked. "I know I've said this before, but you turned my life upside down, Montana. And I think the first indication I had of that was the return of my ability to dream about the future. All of a sudden I had thoughts about where I wanted to be in a year, or five or ten, and you know what? Not one of those dreams then or the ones I have now have anything to do with my career." He used his thumb to wipe at the tear running down her face. "Every single dream I've ever had since you came into my life has revolved around you. Okay," he admitted, "maybe I've had one or two for the kids since we've become parents, but even that wouldn't have been possible without you."

He pulled her closer and she laid her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Right where I am career-wise is right where I want to be. Sure, I wouldn't mind the bigger paycheck and if we were in worse financial shape I would consider the position a little more, but we're doing fine, and I can't think of one other reason why I should take it beyond the moving up the ladder aspect that I don't care about. My ambitions don't extend beyond wanting to put as many bad guys away as I personally can by working in the field, and to being the best husband and father that I can be, and I don't think I can accomplish any of that by complicating our lives with a new job. Moving up was great for you and I'm glad you took the opportunity, but it's just not for me."

Lindsay was still at a loss for words. It was just too much. And God, if he thought a new job would complicate their lives, what would he think if she told him what she had been suspecting for nearly a week now? She quickly pushed that to the back of her mind. Looking up at her husband's face, she just smiled and hugged him tightly around his neck knowing that he would understand what she wasn't saying. It was just a little too much for her to verbalize at the moment around the lump in her throat.

They hung around the barn for a couple more hours, Lindsay even getting Danny to pet a horse or two and feed a carrot to one, though that was almost too much for him. On the way home Danny mentioned faux casually how the kids weren't scheduled to be home for several hours and Lindsay shot him an encouraging smile, which only led to more confusion on his part when they reached their house and she ran upstairs, shouting down that he should order some takeout for them. She knew he had to be wondering what in the world was going on, but an idea had formed in her head and she wanted to surprise him as wonderfully as he had her that day.

Digging through the back of their closet, she finally found what she was looking for. She heard the doorbell and the muffled sounds of Danny talking to someone as she finished getting ready. Moments later the front door closed and she recognized the sound of Danny coming up the stairs. "Hey, Montana, you in there?" he called, knocking on the door before starting to open it. "The food's here…" His words trailed off as he caught sight of her.

Lindsay smirked at his shocked face. She supposed she couldn't blame him, what with her standing there in nothing but her old cowboy boots and cowgirl hat and holding in her hand the rhinestone studded cowboy hat she had bought him as a gag gift years ago. She walked over and put it firmly on his head before placing a finger over his lips that were opening and closing like he was trying to say something but couldn't figure out how to speak. "I know you're a city boy, so much the native New Yorker that you probably know every crack in the city's sidewalks, but I thought maybe, just this once, you'd like to be a little country and join me in our own personal rodeo."

Danny quickly got over his shock and crushed her to him. "Yee haw!" he declared, and they were out of the gate and on their way to a first place finish.


	6. I Can’t Get Next to You

**AN:** Only two more chapters to go after this. Thanks for reading!

**Chapter Six: I Can't Get Next to You / The Temptations**

Sheldon was a little worried as he watched Lindsay walk back into his office, the plastic bag that Sid had given her clutched tightly in her hand. He knew the prospect of what was ahead of her was daunting, but he didn't understand why she seemed to be dreading it so much. It was a surprise, but he would have thought it would be a good one.

He got up to close the door and then sat in the chair next to the one she was in, almost curled up into herself with one leg up under her and her arms crossed over her stomach, the bag still clutched tightly in her fingers. Sheldon was about to ask why this seemed to be such a horrible thing when Lindsay finally spoke and began to answer his unspoken questions.

"I…I haven't been completely honest with you, Sheldon." She blew out a breath. "Danny and I have been doing a lot better lately, but we had a…setback, I guess you could call it. Last week."

Hawkes thought he knew where this was going. "The Carson case."

She nodded. "Yeah. We've been dealing with some other…stuff…" Sheldon didn't know what she meant by that, but he didn't push. "And then this, and it just blew up in my face, but I have no one to blame but myself…"

_**One week ago…**_

Danny gripped his keys even tighter in his hand as he walked through the parking garage towards his vehicle. He needed to get out of here and fast. But God wasn't on his side as he heard his name being called from behind him. He considered jumping in the car and leaving before she could catch him, but it was probably better that they had this out here anyway. Less prying eyes than in the lab and he didn't want to scare the kids by doing this at home.

And so he stopped when he reached the car, turning and leaning against it, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for his wife to approach. He decided to let her speak first, see where she wanted to take this.

He didn't move as she gently brushed the cut over his eye. The concern in her eyes over said cut and the bruise that was quickly forming on the eye below it was soon replaced with anger. "What were you thinking, Danny? You had him cold, you didn't need to provoke him."

Danny straightened. "It's always better to have a confession. And I can't believe you would get on me about this! So what if I provoked him? The bastard deserved some provoking."

Lindsay shook her head. "I don't care about him, Danny, I care about you. This isn't going to go over well with the brass." She crossed her arms over her chest and there they were, facing off with one another. "And why didn't you call me? I can't believe I had to hear about this from Scagnetti, who was nice enough to give me a heads up that my husband had been attacked in interrogation. Damnit, Danny, I thought we were doing better!"

He snorted. That was rich. "Better? That's funny coming from you, Lindsay."

She flinched and he knew that she knew what he was talking about, but she still refused to admit it. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's supposed to mean that I can't get next to you lately, Lindsay. We were doing great, I got that whole job offer thing off my chest and I thought we were fine. And then I notice that you can't seem to look me in the eye anymore. You're not eating as much as you usually do, you're tired all the time. Something's obviously bothering you, but I thought I would just let you tell me in your own time since I'm not the best about coming clean with everything right away. And I _was_ dealing with it fine until you came over here and accused me of being the reason we're back to square one. Tell me, don't tell me, I don't give a damn, just don't pretend like there's nothing going on and then blame the distance between us on me." He couldn't stand the look on her face, so he turned and walked around the car to get in the driver's seat. He pulled out and drove away without looking back.

Hours later, he was sitting on the living room floor having a tea party with his daughters at the coffee table and waiting for Lindsay to walk in the door. He needed to apologize, but he had no idea where to start. Not that anything like that had ever stopped him before.

Danny tried to concentrate on his daughters for the time being. It wouldn't be that much longer before they grew out of wanting to have tea parties with their dad. Actually, he had the sneaking suspicion that they were doing it this time just for him. Ella had noticed that he wasn't in the best of moods. It was something that he and Lindsay tried their best not to do: bring their jobs home and let it affect their home life. Though if he were completely honest with himself, his current mood didn't have anything to do with that murdering bastard Carson who had beaten to death the thirteen year old he had been pimping out. No, Danny's current mood was all about his fight with Lindsay. Nothing could put him in a bad mood faster than having it out with his wife.

He accepted the tea cup Ana offered him and tried to smile convincingly. She seemed to buy his act, but Ella looked like she didn't, at least not completely. She had his eyes, but as he looked into them he was reminded so much of Lindsay. Both of them seemed to be able to look into his eyes and see his soul. He was used to it from Lindsay at this point, but it was a little disconcerting to get the same look from his daughter.

The front door opened and Ana got up to run and greet her mother. Dominic barely looked up from his homework, still annoyed that his dad had made him stay downstairs where he could watch over him instead of letting him go upstairs to his bedroom where he was likely to get distracted. Danny leaned forward and kissed Ella on the forehead, then pushed himself up off the ground and went to his wife.

It was like a knife to the gut to see the pain in her eyes and know that he had put it there. He squatted down in front of his older daughter who had been chattering away about her day to her mother. "Hey, Montana-ana," he said, using the nickname he sometimes called her. "Can you go play with your sister for a bit? I need to talk to Mom about something." Ana cocked her head, considering for a moment, then nodded and ran back to the coffee table.

Standing back up, Danny took Lindsay's hand and pulled her up the stairs to their bedroom. Once inside with the door closed, he turned to her. "Lindsay-"

"No, I should apologize first," she interrupted. "You're right Danny, there is something I haven't been able to figure out how to tell you-"

It was his turn to interrupt as he walked forward and placed a finger on her lips. "No, I'm first this time, Montana." He took his finger away and brushed some hair back off of her face. "Look, whatever it is, I don't care, okay? Tell me whenever you feel like it. I shouldn't have jumped all over you for that. Just don't pull away from me, okay?" He blinked quickly a few times to hold the tears at bay. Nothing made him cry like a baby faster than having pain between him and Lindsay. "You're the key to my happiness, Lindsay. Nothing I do matters without you. I just need you to know that, and if this thing you can't figure out how to tell me has anything to do with me, just tell me what to do to fix it and I'll do whatever it takes. I'll turn back time if I have to…"

"No, no, Danny, no, it's nothing you did, honestly." She sucked in a breath, obviously near tears herself. "Really, it has nothing to do with you, it's me, I just, I can't seem to bring myself to say it…"

He cupped her face with his hands. "Then don't. Say it when you want to, don't say it, I don't care. Just forgive me for being a jerk and tell me we're okay." She whispered her forgiveness and her assurance and he pulled her against him. Despite their reconciliation, he had the feeling that this wasn't completely over, that even with her wrapped tightly inside his arms that he wasn't really next to her, not in the most important sense. But as long as she was physically here, they could work on the rest. And he was determined to be more patient than he ever had been before and wait as long as it took for Lindsay to come clean with what was bothering her.


	7. Don't Worry, Be Happy

**AN:** Thanks to those who are still reading this story and to those who are reviewing. Thanks as always to my beta. No, I don't own _CSI:NY_. Only the epilogue is left after this. Anything else? No? Carry on then.

**Chapter Seven: Don't Worry, Be Happy / Bobby ****McFerrin**

Sheldon smiled at the scene before him. He knew everything would work out once things were out in the open. His friends were just too good at holding things in sometimes. He lifted an eyebrow as he noticed Sid holding out his hand towards Marty Pino. The younger man groaned, pulled out his wallet, extracted a twenty and slapped it into Sid's palm. Hawkes was incredulous. "You have got to be kidding me. You guys had a bet on this?"

Hammerback shrugged his shoulders. "When I told Marty what was going on, he didn't believe me and bet me twenty bucks that I was wrong. How could I refuse?"

Hawkes shook his head. What a cast of characters he worked with.

_**Half an hour ago…**_

Sid walked in before Lindsay could elaborate further on the current situation between her and Danny. "Your husband is on his way." He looked down at his watch. "Should be here any minute actually."

Lindsay shot up out of her chair. "What?! Sid, I'm not ready to talk to him!"

"No time like the present," Sid replied. "Marty called from the scene he was at to ask if I could get some things ready for the body he was bringing in and I asked him if he had seen Danny lately. Just so happened that Danny was there, so I told Marty to bring him back here in the M.E. van because you had something to tell him." Sid didn't mention that the conversation had been a little more involved than that, with Sid going into a little more detail than he probably should have about the current situation. But the younger man had been curious and Sid couldn't help himself.

"Oh, God," Lindsay moaned as she began to pace back and forth across Sheldon's office. Considering how small the space was, it didn't take more than a few steps each way before she had to make a turn.

"It's going to be okay, Lindsay, don't worry," Sheldon reassured her. "I'm sure everything will work out fine." He wanted to say that it was probably just the hormones making her overreact, but if he hadn't already learned the lesson that saying anything like that to a woman was tantamount to rooting for the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium, he had certainly learned it lately what with being married to a currently pregnant woman.

"You can't know that," Lindsay shot back. She visibly paled as they all heard Danny outside calling for her. "Oh, God, he's here."

Sheldon and Sid shared another look. Sid opened the door and headed out to get Danny while Hawkes laid a hand on Lindsay's arm. "Everything is going to be fine. But if you need a friend, I'll be right outside in the hallway, okay?" She nodded and Sheldon left as Danny entered, shutting the door to give the couple some privacy.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked, gripping Lindsay's shoulders. Pino had scared the crap out of him when he said that Danny should come back to the morgue with him, that Lindsay needed to talk to him. The way Pino made it sound, it involved something personal rather than professional and for the life of him Danny couldn't think of any good reasons why Lindsay would call him away from a scene to talk about personal things, only bad ones. But despite practically threatening the man with arrest, Pino had refused to give Danny any more details even though it was obvious that he knew more about what was going on.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She took a deep breath and decided that she needed to stop avoiding the situation and just get her confession over with. Blurt it out quickly, like ripping off a band-aid. "Actually, I'm not completely fine." She reached into the plastic bag she was still holding and pulled out the test that Sid had bought her. She hadn't even looked at it, but she didn't need to because she already knew what it said. She held it up to Danny's eye level and said the words that she had been avoiding ever since Sheldon had confronted her about what was going on. "I'm pregnant."

Danny stared at the test, Lindsay's words reverberating around his head. She was pregnant? "You're pregnant?" he asked, shock and confusion apparent in his voice.

She put the pregnancy test back in the bag and dropped it on the chair, not able to bring her eyes up to Danny's. "Yeah. I didn't recognize the signs for a long time because it's not like we planned on this happening, but I've known about it for awhile."

If this were a cartoon, multiple light bulbs would have been going off over Danny's head. "That's why you haven't been feeling well for weeks. And this is what you haven't been able to figure out how to tell me?" She nodded and it suddenly hit him that she was nervous about how he was going to react to the news. He held her face in his hands and gently forced her to look up at him. "Honey, this isn't a bad thing. Is it?" God knew it wasn't something she needed, being the first female head of the New York City Crime Lab.

"No, God no, Danny, being pregnant with our child could never be a bad thing. I just…" Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to put her jumbled thoughts and emotions into words. "It's just, it's so crazy! By the time this baby is born the twins will be eight and Dominic will be ten. How will they handle having a new brother or sister? And we just figured out how to balance everything in our lives, how is this going to work? And I know I should have told you weeks ago when I first figured this out at Sheldon and Tessa's party, but I couldn't bring myself to say the words, and then you were getting job offers, and then we had our big fight…"

"Shhh," Danny soothed, pulling her up against his chest. Now all of a sudden her various mood swings made sense. He was an idiot for not putting it together before now, but he guessed that he had had the same issue as Lindsay. It had been forever since they had brought a new child into the world and so he had forgotten some of his memories of how Lindsay was when she was pregnant. She was mostly okay, but she did tend to agonize and worry more. His practical Montana, always calm in a professional crisis, was a bit of a mother hen when it came to their children, and that maternal instinct went into overdrive when she was pregnant. He remembered figuring out that Lindsay was pregnant the second time by her behavior. But then, there had been less than two years between Dominic and the twins, a much smaller interval than this time.

"Okay first thing I need to know is, are you okay?" Lindsay nodded as she pulled back slightly and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, now that I realize my worry was for nothing. I've just had the usual morning sickness that I had the other two times, but add on the stress of trying to figure out how to tell you, and I guess I went a little crazy there for awhile."

Danny smiled. A part of him might agree with her on that, but he would never admit it. "You weren't crazy." His grin got bigger as things started settling in his mind a bit more. At first he had been in shock, and then he was just concerned with how Lindsay was doing. But now he had had time to let the news sink in a little and it was starting to really dawn on him that he was going to be a father to another child. "So, we're really going to have another baby?"

Lindsay smiled. Now that the weight was lifted off of her shoulders, she felt like she could finally be happy about her pregnancy. "Yeah. God help us, there's going to be another little Messer running around."

Danny laughed and pulled his wife to him and for awhile no words were spoken.

Several minutes later when they finally came up for air, Danny asked Lindsay why she decided to tell him the news down here in the morgue. That prompted Lindsay to tell him the whole sequence of events, from almost throwing up over a body to Sid buying a pregnancy test and finally to Danny being brought down there. Danny suddenly had the thought that there were people outside the office probably waiting to hear about what was going on. What better way to prove to Lindsay once and for all that he considered this a good thing than to proclaim it to the masses? "Come on," he urged her, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the office. "Follow us," he said to Sid and Sheldon who were in the hallway, and they did, all going with Danny into the morgue.

Lindsay didn't realize what Danny had in mind until he had brought them to the middle of the morgue and shouted to get everyone's attention. She didn't have time to do more than blush before he made the announcement. "Everybody, I want you all to be the first ones to officially hear the news: Lindsay is pregnant! We're having another kid!"

A round of cheers went up from everyone there, most clapping as well and some even whistling loudly. Danny had a moment of inspiration and put up his hand to get them to quiet down. "All of you have been such an important part of this experience that Lindsay and I, well…" He briefly looked at his wife and he could tell by her smile that she had somehow figured out where he was going with this, and the squeeze she gave his hand indicated her agreement with the decision. "We'd like all of you, the whole M.E.'s office, to be the godparents of our new son or daughter. You guys good with that?"

They got another round of raucous cheers, this one even louder. Lindsay accepted hugs of congratulations from some and assurances from others that she wouldn't regret making their whole group the godparents of their new child. She looked over at Hawkes and smiled at him in thanks. He had been right all along, and now she wouldn't worry and could just concentrate on being happy about the new child she had growing inside of her.


	8. Epilogue: Beautiful Boy

**AN:** Well, here we are at the end of this story. But never fear, this is not the end of my series, "Everything Old is New Again." I'll be adding to the series as often as my muse gives me inspiration. :)

Thanks to all who have read this to the very end and those who have been kind enough to review. It really means a lot to hear from you.

And thanks as always to my awesome beta, **Kerry Blue**, who challenges me to be a better writer.

Final Disclaimer for this story: I do not own _CSI:NY_, nor do I own any of the songs that I have mentioned and taken inspiration from. Those are all owned by people far smarter and far luckier than I will ever be.

**Epilogue: Beautiful Boy / John Lennon**

"Oh, this is perfect," Lindsay said as she walked hand in hand with Danny down through the dunes of Cape Cod to the ocean. "Even if I hadn't wanted to escape that annoying woman, this still would have been a great idea. I just wish I could have a piña colada or something to calm me down, because that woman really got on my nerves."

Danny grinned. They had met another couple earlier in the day and they were pretty nice except for the fact that the woman kept trying to get Lindsay to do yoga with her. His Montana was definitely not the yoga type. Her idea of total relaxation was to get on some huge animal and gallop through a field. And while he thought that was crazy, he agreed with her on the yoga thing. You couldn't pay him a million dollars to sit in the lotus position for even five minutes.

They strolled along without talking for a few minutes, finally coming to a stop at the edge of the ocean right at the upper limits of the high tide. Lindsay kicked off her sandals so that she could sink her feet into the sand and let the water wash rhythmically over them as Danny came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her and laying his hands on her very pregnant belly.

"I still can't believe they did this for us," Lindsay commented.

"I know," Danny replied as he put his head on her shoulder and kissed her neck. He laughed as a thought occurred to him. "I guess I made a good choice about the godparents for our child."

Lindsay laughed with him. "Yeah, you did. They've all been incredible." And they had been. This trip that the whole M.E.'s office had chipped in to help buy for them to have a getaway, an escape, before the baby was born, along with a similar trip for Sheldon and Tessa, was just a big example of their love and generosity, but even more touching was the little things they had done ever since the announcement in the morgue. It was a little overwhelming at times, the amount of phone calls Lindsay would get, the number of times M.E. staff would stop in to the office just to check on her, the huge baby shower they threw for her and Tessa, and on and on. But it was all out of love and concern and Lindsay couldn't get upset at them for it. Well, sometimes when she was cranky she could, but overall she didn't mind. Besides, she knew that Danny appreciated knowing so many people were watching out for her. She knew he thought that she got overprotective when she was pregnant, but he didn't have a whole lot of room to talk.

They stood in silence until Lindsay just had to ask the question that had been on her mind. "Do you think we're ready for this? Are we ready to have another baby?"

"Yeah," Danny answered without hesitation. He tightened his arms around her. "As ready as we possibly can be, anyway. Just think, in a few short weeks we'll be having our fourth child."

"It is kind of crazy, isn't it? And to think, it all started with a pool table and you doubting my abilities."

Danny laughed. Oh, how he loved this woman. "Something I've never made the mistake of doing since that night." Lindsay turned her head and they kissed there in the middle of the night with only the stars and the ocean as witnesses, the thoughts of the impending birth momentarily pushed from their minds.

_**Several weeks later…**_

Sheldon handed his wife the bottle of water he had gotten for her. "You okay, you need anything else?"

"I'm fine, honey." She smiled at him. "If you're this bad now, Shel, how nervous are you going to be when I'm in labor?"

"I don't even want to think about that right now." And he really didn't. All his years of medical training and experience were doing nothing to ease his anxiety as the day of his first child's birth approached, probably because he knew just as much about what could go wrong as what could go right. He hadn't been this nervous and impatient while in the waiting room during the labor and birth of Danny and Lindsay's other kids, but he supposed this was different because he was already agitated over his own wife's condition.

"Uncle Sheldon, Uncle Sheldon!" four voices shouted as his nieces and nephew came running up to him.

"What, what?" he asked as he was suddenly surrounded by the children, the twins each holding on to one of his legs and Dominic and Kaile holding on to his hands.

"Tell us a story!" Dominic exclaimed. "Uncle Don said that Dad once saved you when you were diving for hidden treasure, but he wouldn't tell us the story, he said that you would."

Hawkes looked across at his friend who just gave him a shrug and a smirk. Leave it to Don to turn an incident involving searching for evidence in a double murder case into an expedition for sunken treasure. But it served as a good distraction, so he sat next to his wife and pulled Ella and Ana onto his lap while Dominic and Kaile sat at his feet.

Some of his colleagues turned to listen to the story, most of them already aware of the details though some newer people had never heard about the incident. The waiting room was filled with people, probably more than was the actual capacity for the room. Every member of their family was there of course, Mac and Stella sitting over by Don, but just about every member of the morgue staff that wasn't on duty had showed up as well, and those who were on duty were calling in for updates periodically. The M.E.'s office had taken Danny's offer to be the godparents of his and Lindsay's new child seriously and they all wanted to be a part of the experience.

Just as Sheldon had finished up the story, the kids clapping as he told of how Danny had rescued him during that diving expedition over a decade ago, the hero of the story happened to walk around the corner into the waiting room. Sheldon helped the girls jump off his lap and watched as they ran along with Dominic to their father who picked the girls up.

Danny hugged his girls and looked down at his son, trying to keep the emotion down long enough to make the announcement. "Ana, Ella, Dominic, everybody," he said, looking around the room and encompassing all there into the moment. He took a breath, blinked a couple of times, and then finally told them. "It's a boy. A big, healthy baby boy."

Everyone cheered and there was much clapping and hugging. Danny assured them all that he would have the nurses bring the new baby down this way before heading on to the nursery, but first he wanted to take his kids in to meet their new brother.

Lindsay was resting her eyes as she waited for Danny to bring their other children into the room. When she heard the cries of "Mommy!" she opened her eyes and smiled. "Hey you guys," she said as she eagerly accepted their hugs when all three climbed up on her bed. She was obviously still sore, but there was no way she would let on to her kids and make them think they couldn't hug her whenever they wanted to.

"And here's your new baby brother," Danny told them as he came to sit on the bed next to his wife, their new child in his arms. All the kids were kind of nervous, like they didn't know what to do with this thing that had been growing inside of their mom for the past several months.

Ella was the first to reach out a tentative hand and touch his cheek. "He's beautiful," she said softly. She looked up at her father. "What's his name?"

"Devon Daniel Messer," Danny replied just as softly. The name Devon had been chosen weeks before along with a girl's name since they had chosen to be surprised this time about whether they were having a boy or a girl. They had known Dominic would be a boy, but they hadn't gotten the chance to decide whether to know or not with the twins because the girls had never given the doctor a good look during the ultrasounds. Lindsay and Danny had found through that experience that they liked being surprised. Danny had let Lindsay pick the middle name this time and he had gotten choked up when she gave the baby's full name to the nurse for the birth certificate.

Danny transferred Devon to his wife's arms and went to a nearby table to pick up his camera. After taking a shot of Lindsay and the kids all looking down at the baby, he told them to all look up and smile. "Go get a nurse or someone else to hold the camera," Lindsay said then. "I want you in some of these pictures."

Danny poked his head out of the door to find their family waiting outside. He waved them all in and Mac took his camera while Stella and Tessa took pictures with their own. Danny stood next to the bed and leaned over to brush a kiss on the top of Lindsay's head. As he stood there smiling down at his family he realized yet again what a lucky man he was. He had found a love like nothing else with Lindsay and she had blessed him with four perfect children. He would fight off monsters for them if necessary, but right now all he could do was look at them and hug them. Some people in life weren't so lucky and wanted to escape their families for a myriad of reasons, but not him. No, this was his life right here in this hospital room, and he wouldn't change a thing about it.


End file.
